Cost of Secrecy

Government secrecy up despite exposure of issue

Stamping documents 'secret' cost taxpayers $8.2 billion last year

By REBECCA CARR AND KEN HERMAN
COX NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON -- Government secrecy is expanding at an unprecedented clip, despite growing public concern about barriers to information, a report expected to be released Saturday found.

OpenTheGovernment.org reports that stamping government documents "secret" cost American taxpayers $8.2 billion last year -- a 7.5 percent increase over the year before.

The coalition found that for every dollar spent declassifying documents, the federal government spends $185 to conceal government documents. Over all, classification cost 2 1/2 times what it cost in 1997.

Open-government advocates blame the policies of the Bush administration.

"The current administration has increasingly refused to be held accountable to the public," said Patrice McDermott, executive director of the coalition of conservative and liberal groups concerned about government secrecy. "These practices lead to the circumscription of democracy."